Fürth stun Schalke
Gelsenkirchen - FC Schalke 04 were shocked into submission by cellar-dwellers Greuther Fürth as the Franconian outfit overturned a one-goal deficit in a dramatic 2-1 win.
Schalke set the tone
The hosts dominated proceedings from start to finish, but having gone ahead through new-signing Michel Bastos let the lead slip through their fingers as Nikola Djurdjic set-up Felix Klaus for the equaliser before heading in the winner with seconds left to play.
At home to the side propping up the rest of the Bundesliga, it came as no surprise that Schalke established an early grip on proceedings. However, with Fürth sitting deep the Royal Blues were restricted to hopeful long-range efforts that did little to threaten Wolfgang Hesl’s goal. Debutant Michel Bastos' impact was undeniable though, as the Brazilian went closest to breaking the deadlock, firing into the side netting from a tight angle approaching the half hour mark.
The visitors were offering very little going forward, but were admirably holding Schalke at bay with their disciplined defending, which continued to thwart the hosts. Roman Neustädter's goal-bound header was well cleared by Milorad Pekovic and though the hosts' dominance showed no signs of abating, coach Jens Keller's charges failed to find a way past Fürth's bulwark before half-time.
Flipping the script
The guests' hard work came crashing down around them within two minutes of the restart though, as Bastos leathered an unstoppable shot into the far corner from 20 yards to open the scoring. The Clover Leaves were forced to push forward in response to going behind and reaped the rewards of investing more up front almost immediately. Nikola Djurdjic found space on the left to square for an unmarked Felix Klaus to tap home at the back post.
Djurdjic promptly fluffed his lines with a chance of his own soon after as Fürth began enjoying a promising spell, although they failed to take the lead despite Schalke’s evident vulnerability. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jermaine Jones both went within inches of a potential winner, but after Timo Hildebrand produced a superb double-save that looked to have rescued a point, a last gasp counterattack resulted in Djudjic heading home over the helpless Schalke keeper to put an end to a run of 17 games without a win for the cellar-dwellers.
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